Last night my belt popped off for the cooling system. Is it common to see the belt just pop off and not snap? I'm thinking that maybe some vibration from the fan might have caused it? Is it possible that some other cooling system failure (i.e. water pump, thermostat, head gasket) could have forced the fan off? After thebelt popped offI removed the belt out of the engine and started the car and drove it a couple feet onto the tow truck. Started fine.I've been driving thecar for about a month and 1/2 since i bought it from the PO and hadn't had any problems so far. Any ideas/help?

 

Check the waterpump. See if there is any play in it. Could be a sign the seals or bearings are wearing out of it. With the belt off, (and probably the clutch fan too) grab the head and try to move it, it should have zero play. If the w/p head moves either side to side or in and out, you found your problem. They dont' always leak when they first start to go bad.

If it's not the pump, put the belt and clutch fan back on and start the car up. See if the path of belt gets skewed (off center) at any point along its travel, rev the engine too to see if that changes anything.

Last, check your harmonic balancer. If that's got a wobble in it, it would cause a belt to jump also.

 

yeah check for play but also keep some basic hand tools with you and an extra belt because the old v belt system is not like modern serpentine esp since it doesnt have an automatic tensioner and are more likely to fail in comparison and its just a good idea and will save the cost of a tow truck next time

 

Yeah I'll def be keeping an extra belt on me from here on out. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

That particular belt is long and has a lot of wobble up and down even with the tension pulley. Just get it as tight as you can and only run the air con with it. Use another belt for your water pump and alternator. At least if it does it again, you won't be left stranded. That is how my 65 is set up.